Watch: Culture Hustings for the Next Parliament
On 26 February 2026, SCAN and five organisational partners presented a Culture Hustings at Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh – a chance for those in our sector to hear all of Scotland’s main political parties discuss their plans for culture ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections in May. This non-partisan event was co-organised by SCAN alongside Culture Counts, Federation of Scottish Theatre, Festivals Edinburgh, Equal Media and Culture Centre and Campaign for the Arts.
Chaired by broadcaster and journalist Halla Mohieddeen, the speakers were Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party), Euan Davidson (Scottish Liberal Democrats), Malcolm Offord (Reform UK Scotland), Murdo Fraser (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party), Neil Bibby (Scottish Labour) and Q Manivannan (Scottish Green Party). Topics of conversation included fair work, the establishment of a Culture Act for Scotland, and the recognition of culture as a human right – the latter of which will be the focus of SCAN’s next Summit in summer 2026. Coverage of the event was picked up in both The Scotsman and The Stage, and the Equal Media and Culture Centre have published a reflection on the event on their website here.
If you missed the event, you can watch a recording of the conversation on Youtube here.
Reflecting on the event, SCAN and our partners remarked: “Culture is essential to improving our individual and national wellbeing, community cohesion, our economy, and our international profile. We are grateful to the representatives of Scotland’s six main political parties for sharing their priorities for the sector in the next parliamentary term. However, the sector needs much more than just warm words. We need politicians to commit to action that strengthens our sector and scales our impact for the benefit of all, and support our call for a Culture Act for Scotland. We look forward to working with all MSPs and the next Scottish Government to make this happen.”
In the lead up to the Scottish Parliament Elections in May 2026, SCAN is using our The Future Is Art campaign to call on all Scottish political parties to secure the future of Scotland’s creative heart. Find out more about the campaign, read our election asks and get involved here.
Images: Erika Stevenson